


A Liminal Existence

by JimMoriartyH1



Series: Existence Series [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-09-30 20:16:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20452952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JimMoriartyH1/pseuds/JimMoriartyH1





	1. The Aftermath of Battle

**Hey there, before you read any further there is a previous fic that this is picking up after. If you haven’t read it, please take a look at my profile. It’s under the name A Duel Existence. Thank you!**

**-Moriarty**

  
  


Hospitals were not my forte. There were a lot of things I hated about hospitals. I hated the sterile white walls. The mechanical beeping that only served to heighten my awareness of when I was stressed out. Like a metronome underlying a symphony of anxiety. Hospital gowns were absolutely too thin and covered not even close to enough skin for me to be comfortable. I hated the thin sheets they had on their beds that sucked just enough to keep the edge of a chill on your skin, but well enough for you not to be cold. 

Wires everywhere, getting tangled up in everything including the other wires. The sharp smell of disinfectant that clung to literally everything. The smell was thick enough to taste. This hospital, however, was worse than a normal hospital in a multitude of ways. 

There was no t.v. so what little time I have had to myself was spent in silence which was interrupted by the horrible beeping. There were no windows, so all of the light was flat and artificial making my already pale skin look ten times worse. 

Thankfully, when I woke up, there were no tubes attached to me in ways that I didn’t want to think about. Instead there was Nick Fury offering me a new life here on Earth. And despite my misgivings I had accepted.

What had happened felt far too close and so very far away from me. I found myself picking at the too-thin bed sheets nervously, running the material in-between two fingers. To think that all of this stemmed from a vacation trip astounded me. I had always wanted to see New York, and my dad had surprised me with a trip there. It was supposed to be wonderful. Instead the city came under attack by an invading force led by a misguided and sadistic fool. 

My dad was killed. Even now the shock of it felt too vivid, too real. I didn’t bury him either. 

I grit my teeth and turned over in the narrow bed, listening to the steady beeping wishing that it could distract me from the march of my memories. Fury had said he was going to release me soon, that he just needed to make a few calls. That was yesterday. I had slept for a good portion of my downtime, but now I felt fine. Worse I had reached the state where I couldn’t sleep any more. 

Furious from the loss of my father I had offered myself up to lure out the coordinator of the attack. It wasn’t hard, really. All you had to do was refuse to kneel to him. Show him that someone even as small as me could still stand up to him. That humanity would not easily break or bend in the face of the terror he sought to spread. He had been so angry then. Shot down a faceless girl that stood out in a crowd.

The memories there went a bit fuzzy. I remember the Avengers being near me. I remember a great warm darkness. And then I was suddenly whole and wracked with pain I couldn’t describe, listening as the god who I had helped capture nearly purred over my agony. In the end though...he had sacrificed himself not only for me, but for the brother who offered me a chance to live. To bring me to his father, Odin, on Asgard to try and fix me.

Thor was supposed to see me when I got out. Fury said he wanted to personally introduce me to Tony Stark, which felt a bit odd. I mean, yes, after Odin healed me and deemed me a half-breed between human and Asgardian I had spent a lot of time around mythical figures who were gods, but I had kind of gotten used to that. Didn’t think much of it at all actually. But to meet  _ the  _ Tony Stark. Iron man. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

The door opened. “Miss Lillith?” One of the nurses who had been checking up on me since I woke up stepped into the room. Everything in her demeanor screamed timid, but I had seen firsthand how motivated she was to get her job done. Brown hair neatly tucked back. Pale blue scrubs and eyes to match she was actually quite pretty. “If you’ll follow me we can get you back to your things.” She moved to me and unhooked a few different things and the horrendous beeping finally fell silent.

I swung myself out of the bed and instantly cowered feeling the breeze hit my exposed backside. The nurse smiled which wrinkled her nose in an adorable way.

“Don’t worry. It’s just me and you right now.” She waited until I took a hesitant step forward. “Fury had some clothes sent for you.” She explained ushering me into the hallway. Like the room the hallway was sparse. No decorations, only doors dotting the walls in regular intervals that reminded me of the beeping that I had just escaped. 

“You must be excited.” The nurse said breaking the silence. We passed a door that looked very much like my own door, with Thompson scrawled on the nameplate in dry erase marker. 

“Yeah, I don’t do very well in hospitals.” I muttered trying to ignore the breeze. 

“Well, I was talking about being back on earth, but that too I suppose.” She said amicably. I wondered just how strange it was for her to try and make small talk with a person she knew had been to another planet. I would have been gobsmacked should I have never gone on my little adventure. 

“I missed it.” I said truthfully. Another door passed. This one marked with Canada. I found myself pausing staring at the door for a moment. Who had Canada as a last name? I shook my head and kept going. Probably Captain America’s cousin or something. I chuckled to myself which caught the nurse’s attention.

“Something funny?” She smiled.

“I have a strange sense of humor.” 

Another door. Then another door. I stopped looking at the names and simply tried to keep myself on track behind her. 

Eventually we stopped in front of another door looking the same as all the others.. “Director Fury had us provide you with clothing.” She mentioned as she pushed the door open. “I’ll give you some space.” She said planting herself against the wall. After a whole day of having nothing familiar around me the sight of my things neatly arranged on a table nearly made me cry.

“Garrett!” He was curled in on himself looking almost like a coaster save for the gleam of green near his mouth. Next to him lay Frigga’s necklace. As I spoke he shivered slightly and lifted looking to me with a familiar ring clamped in his mouth. “Oh buddy,” the ache in my chest nearly sent me to the floor, “good job.” I breathed holding out my hand. 

Garrett was beautiful, I realized, as he slowly cracked his mouth back open to gently deposit the ring into my palm. About a foot long, he was crafted from some dark and cloudy looking stone that was wonderfully smooth to the touch. His fangs, which flashed as he deposited the ring, were insanely sharp looking. The last I remembered of those fangs were the jolt as they had sank into my upper chest. He almost had the body of a black mamba, despite the color difference on the outside, but his head was more dragon-esque all ridges and elegant lines. His ruby eyes gleaming as he looked at me.

He flung himself over my wrist and curled around me, dragging his body up mine one loop at a time until all of him rested comfortably around my wrist and upper arm.There was a small pulse of joy from him and then he went still, only the slight pressure indicative that he was still alive.

I looked to the little ring he had given me. The green gem sparkled at me, reminiscent of another green, but I simply shook my head shoving the sorrow down and away from me. It wasn’t time to mourn. Not now. 

I put the ring on and glanced to see my backpack sitting next to a suitcase. A cursory look revealed my armor, newly clean from the looks of it. I turned to the side and felt myself smile.

“Jeans, Garrett!” I told him grabbing the dark and soft pair. “Real jeans. And a t-shirt!” I was nearly crooning with delight. They had even left some underwear and a bra. I didn’t think too much about that last part. Instead I quickly shoved everything on, the plain black shirt and pants feeling like heaven. 

I reached over and grabbed Frigga’s necklace, carefully clasping it around my neck. It didn’t take much to sling the backpack over my shoulders and to grab the suitcase pushing out of the little room. 

The nurse looked me over her eyes locking onto Garrett. “How in the world does that bracelet work?” She asked starting a slow walk that I could follow. “We tried to get it to unlatch after it coiled into that flat shape. Happened overnight after we took it off of you. Clamped onto your ring too.” 

I bit my lip trying not to laugh at the sheer frustration and surprise in her voice. It was almost too easy to reply.

“It’s magic.” 


	2. Plane and Simple

The hallways were monotonous, each one looking so much like the last I wondered if the nurse was simply leading me in circles until something new happened. Perhaps this was the last time I would ever see a friendly face, forced to wander the halls once the vision of the woman disappeared. 

My train of thought, which had started to lean towards Hospital Gothic, was interrupted as new people began to pass by all of them giving me a once over that had me checking to make sure that my clothes were on properly. 

“Do they have something against me?” I asked the nurse quietly during a lull. The hallway had changed and we were now moving through what seemed to be more open office spaces, where plenty of people with the shield logo walked this way and that.

“They’re probably curious.” The nurse answered back slowing slightly to walk next to me. “You are one of the few humans to have ever set foot on Asgard.”

That wasn’t something I had considered before now. Did I even count as human anymore though? I had started out that way, sure, but now? 

“Lady Lillith!” We had entered a much larger space that seemed like a lobby, it wasn’t hard to catch sight of Thor’s golden hair. He waved excitedly the movement seeming oddly childlike along with his larger frame. There was a small rush of wings as two dark shapes took flight. 

They speared for me, and I braced myself feeling their little claws slam into my shoulders pricking the skin as they both moved to fix their position. Huginn had missed me. The thought blasted through my head. I tried my best not to wince. He was so very proud of me for remaining brave. He had been so worried, but he was not allowed to visit while the healers were with me.

“What, you couldn’t see that I recovered?” I asked him teasingly running a finger over his head. That does not stop him from worrying. 

“Hello,” Muninn’s voice was soft and slightly muffled as he pressed his beak into the side of my face. It took me a moment to realize that he had essentially given me a kiss. I ran a finger over his head as well.

“Hey there.” 

Brace yourself. The words hardly touched my mind before large hands were lifting me up from my armpits, much like a small child. Thor grinned at me even as my friends gripped me a bit tighter their wings fluttering and Muninn muttering out a ‘watch yourself’. Thor ignored them both. 

“It is good to see you alive and well! I had feared the worst when I saw what had happened.” Despite the good-natured tone I could see the flicker of horror in his eyes. I remembered it too. The Aether slamming into me. The look in Thor’s eyes as he saw me, collapsed and bleeding out. He had looked so scared. There hadn’t been time to save me, he had to finish Malekith off for good. I tried to ignore the memories and instead gave Thor the most enthusiastic smile I could muster.

“You did it!” 

“Yes.  _ We _ did.” Thor said finally letting me back down. “I have been told we have a place to stay.” 

“You’re staying on Midgard?” I asked surprised. “What of your father?”

“He knows.” Thor said a strange light entering his eyes. I tried my best not to notice if his smiles seemed forced. After all, mine were too. “He knows of you too.”

“Me?” I hadn’t thought of that. Odin had kept me on Asgard claiming it was for my own benefit. I was supposed to be too unstable to be around Midgardians. It hadn’t crossed my mind that he would try to drag me back to Asgard after everything.

“Don’t fret little sister.” He muttered placing a large hand on my head. “Father agreed with me that you belong here. You’ll do better here on Midgard. I’m here to watch over you, among other things.” 

“Is Jane among those other things?” I asked coyly. The gleam in his eyes proved me right. I laughed, feeling a weight fall away from me I didn’t realize I had been carrying. It reminded me of a familiar awed look. A different voice whispering freedom reverently. It was like being hit with a bucket of cold water.

“There you are.” Fury’s voice told me that he knew exactly where I’ve been. The people seemed to part in front of him. I couldn’t really blame them. The man held a brutal feeling authority. “How are you feeling?” It took me a moment to realize he was speaking to me.

“Oh,” I straightened up a bit, “I’m fine.” 

He nodded to himself and gestured for us to follow him. “I’ve already talked to Stark. He’s having arrangements made as we speak. We’ll send you in a quinjet.” Thor followed at my side, drawing people to look at him. He smiled and nodded at those we passed. I tried not to make eye contact. 

Turns out that a quinjet was a strange looking private plane. It was unreal feeling as I strapped myself into one of the seats. Huginn and Muninn sat in my lap, my arms wrapped protectively around them both. Thor seemed at home, carefully placing his hammer into one of the overhead bins. I snorted at how such a mundane action was thrown into the weird with his ‘luggage’ being a legendary weapon and he being a god.

Demigod. 

The word shivered through my mind. I knew it wasn’t Huginn, it didn’t feel like him. I grit my teeth and focused on keeping my two bird friends comfortable during the takeoff. Huginn did not like having something flying  _ for  _ him. 

“Not all of us can fly, buddy.” I told him over the whine of the engines. I was the only one here that couldn’t. I stuck my tongue out at him, ignoring the feeling of my ears popping with the action. 

“Lady Lillith, are you okay?” Thor asked from his seat. I tried not to wince at the title. 

“Yeah, and you can call me Lilly if you want.” 

“You have not met Stark.” Thor leaned back settling in for the ride. The seats were nice. The soft kind of leather that nearly molded to the body. I kept my slightly hunched position, not wanting to let go of my friends ‘till we were at cruising altitude. Huginn appreciated my concern. 

“I think he was there when I was dying.” The memories of that time had grown hazy. Most of it had felt centered around that arrogant voice that had ridiculed me as I died. The malice that dripped off of each word, poisoning my head and heart. Wrecking my body. The feeling of those elegant hands pressed to my chest for the first time. “You think he remembers me?” I asked softer. 

“He was.” Thor confirmed, not hearing my other question. I let it go. Why would some billionaire superhero remember one random girl he met for maybe an hour at most. “I heard he rebuilt his tower.”

I sighed and finally leaned back, letting my bird friends go. They stayed put simply watching me. “You think they serve those shitty little pretzels and soda?” I asked already knowing the answer.


End file.
